The recent revolution in digital technology has touched every sphere and facet of lives, and education sector has not been spared. Unlike any other sector, the link between digital technology and education is unique and complimentary. On one hand, digital technology has become the enabler by redefining the very basics of the sector and altering the rules of the game. On the other hand, today’s young minds will decide the future direction of digital technology as they are going to be the innovators of tomorrow. So, equipping our students is key to success in the field. Currently, more than 40 crore Indians use the internet and this number will get doubled in the next four years. The government has embarked on a mission to connect 2.5 lakh villages through the fibre superhighway. The government is aiming to train crores of Indians in different skills by 2022. It means that digital technology is all set embrace every moment of our lives. We are already a digital society and are moving towards the knowledge society. Hence, the task is cut out for students, teachers and managements. It’s time for learning, relearning and unlearning. Over the years, technology has outdated our conventional theories and practices in education. Blackboards, chalks, textbooks and ink pens are fast turning into the things of the past. Traditional classrooms are giving way to smart classrooms. Students are smart enough to swim with the current trends and they are constantly on the learning curve. This learning will surely continue.

But, for teachers, it’s time for relearning, whether it is pedagogical tools, content or dissemination. They need to update themselves to catch up with students. For the management or school authorities, the task is first unlearning, before learning. The old management theories and best practices are getting outdated with every passing day, because even the traditional infrastructure is slowly becoming obsolete in this virtual world. Going forward, many foreseen and unforeseen technology innovations will disrupt the education sector. One of the most powerful disruptions will be the rising inclination towards m-learning from e-learning practices. Mobile technology is making education affordable, convenient and more effective. Mobile apps are turning learning a pleasure ride, like negotiating through the twists and turns of an online game. We already see the market being flooded with multiple apps for different categories of studies. Technology is a great leveller, and more so in education. Another big trend to watch out is how fast this will redefine the educational landscape. Digital technology is making place, people and time irrelevant for learning. As we are moving into a global classroom, rural and urban divide will fade away. With schools interconnected digitally, expertise will matter first. Through telemedicine facilities, tertiary care is now being made available at primary healthcare centres. Similarly, expertise by specialists in big towns now quickly reach grass-roots levels. Talent, whether in small towns or metros, is able to get support at an equal scale. Even the time constraints in learning will be removed soon and synchronisation—boundless and timeless education—will happen. Another aspect is that parents will also be enrolled into this digital highway and their contribution will be integral for the success of the pupils.

But the two biggest trends to impact education in the near future will be artificial intelligence and Internet of Things—they are already charting the very course of information technology. Virtual reality and augmented reality videos and simulations will make education content more interactive and interesting. Cloud technology is going to make life easier both for students and teachers as documents and files will be stored and accessed easily. This will help managements in a big way, cutting down on infrastructure costs. Similarly, Big Data will make assignments, evaluations, tests and projects more results-driven. In the same way analytics is helping fintech companies, student performance can be improved through Big Data. Teachers can make use of the data efficiently to monitor and guide students. Augmented reality and virtual reality can make learning exciting, with rich experiences and opening up endless possibilities. Highly engaging classrooms will lead to better results. These can transform the traditional methods of learning, breaking down the walls of classrooms and making students to think out-of-the box and pilot new innovations.

BW Businessworld’s Future of Education Summit is a platform that endeavours to engage thought leaders, practitioners and innovators to bring forth innovative and disruptive ideas that can link our students, faculties and institutions to solutions that are best suited for them; solutions that improve lives and stories that inspire other educators to do better. http://bwevents.co.in/bweducation/future-of-education-summit/

Education and the right to education is one of the main fundamental rights of our country’s citizens. It is compulsory for children aged between 6-14 to have an education. Over the many years, especially after independence, India has managed to increase its literacy rates to nearly 75%. It also has more primary education than ever before.

There is a lot spoken and written about the education system and the lack of accessibility. We fail to acknowledge that we have come a long way in making our country progressive through education. We are the only country that is in high demand for our skills in the English language. Our citizens are speaking more than one language and are proficient in English which is a universally accepted corporate and business language. Our education system has made English language as our first language of education. This means that we are as fluent as any native. The knowledge of the English language alone is an advantage over other nationalities when seeking higher education or jobs.

Our education system encourages technology as well. We not only ensure that the children understand and know technology but also encourages the use of it. Most schools today have computers 1:1 and use technology in their teaching as well. Projections, online classes, online access for homework and similar use of trendy technology is making students and to an extend their parents technologically sound. This helps children and parents to stay up to date as well as embrace the fast changing times. It wont be long when all schools are digital.

Though digital India has been one of the biggest political agendas for a while now, education has been balanced with digitisation, physical activities and quality content. Many State boards as well as the Central board have ensured that the textbooks and lessons that children learn within the classroom are up to date as well. They have made sure to include inspiring stories as well as stories that are making the next generation broad minded and not confined to religion or to dated thoughts. It is making kids respect one another better and accept each others shortcomings. It is an effort to keep education more human than simply digitised.

In recent times, we have seen that children have been put under a lot of pressure and therefore the education system underwent a serious change. Parents also demonstrated their frustration when they saw their children were under stress and took drastic steps to release that stress. In Maharashtra we now allow all children to attend class and be pushed into the next grade until 9th. This is good as well as unhelpful for the children. The education itself is taken for granted by the parents and in turn the kids. They learn but they don’t take it seriously. Competition is a way to make children enjoy the process of education as well as helps in keeping their memory sharp. It encourages participation, learning, and exploration of the mind. The teachers passion, in our observation, has also taken a back seat which is not benefitting the children.

On the other hand, there are any passionate teachers who campaign in their own small way to ensure that the children have a holistic development. They encourage children to read books, take physical training classes and voice their opinions unabashedly. Efforts at an individual level is truly something that has benefitted education and the children.

We needed to appreciate the positive changes that have taken place in the process of bringing better education to the speedy generations. They are knowledgeable of so any things before they Coe into class. It is now becoming a need to channelise this knowledge that todays kids have, thanks to advancement of technology. It is y appeal to all education institutes, teachers and parents to encourage their children to take education seriously without applying pressure on their progress. Progress is not not what we see on the report cards, it is in their social and intellectual skills and its applications at their individual level. Appreciation of the children in everything they do and channelising their mistakes to learning fro the is what will make India a highly skilled and civilised country.

Only 42% of Class 5 students can read Class 2 text, says report

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2016 report does not bode well for Karnataka as it indicates a negative trend in the reading and arithmetic levels of the state’s students.

According to the results of the annual study conducted by NGO Pratham, only 42.1% of Class 5 students can read a Class 2 level text. This is a steep decline from 2014, when the study indicated that 47.3% of Class 5 students could perform the same task. The study was not conducted in 2015.

The arithmetic levels of students in Karnataka are also not promising as fewer students can recognise numbers between 10 and 99. According to the 2016 report, only 25.4% Class 8 students could recognise numbers between 10 and 99 as compared to 31.2% in 2014. Similarly, in 2014, 33.4% of Class 7 students and 34.3% of Class 6 students could recognise numbers between 10 and 99 but in 2016, only 27.1% of students in Class 7 and 29% in Class 6 can do the same.

Private school students are ahead of their government school peers in arithmetic. In class 3 while, 38.7% of students in private schools can do at least subtraction, the corresponding figure is 25.5% in government schools. Private school students are ahead in Class 5 and Class 8 as well. However, when it comes to reading Kannada, both government and private school students are on equal footing.

The percentage of children in the age group 6 to 14 years who never enrolled in school or dropped out has reduced to 1.1% from 1.7% 2014. Another positive trend is that the number of girls in the age group 11 to 14 years not enrolled in school has reduced significantly from 3.5% in 2014 to 2.1% in 2016.

District-wise performance

Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagalur and Hassan districts have the distinction of having no girls out of school in the 6 to 14 age group.

Yadgir district has the most number of girls not enrolled in school at 5.8% while the state average is 1.1%. Yadgir district has performed poorly in other parameters as well. Only 38.1% of Class 3 to Class 5 students can read Class 1 level textbook (state average 52.8%), and only 29.2% of them can do at least subtraction (state average 43.2%).

Further, learning levels of class 6 to class 8 students are also poor as only 47.1% can read Class 2 textbook (state average 60.9%) and 22.2% can do division (state average 34.6%).

Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kodagu and Uttara Kannada have some of the best learning levels. Bengaluru (Urban) has the maximum number of students enrolled in private schools at 56% while the least is 12.7% in Dharwad.

It would be nice to have online learning initiatives address this problem.

The latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) draws our attention yet again to the fact that a lot needs to be fixed in our education system. Without commenting on the small changes in percentages reported over the last two or four years, the underlying message remains that we aren't making an impact on our children's learning - the most important thing we can invest in as a country.

Today, we live in a world full of opportunities where technology and global connectedness can help a student in a small village become the next global executive or entrepreneur. Can we afford to hold these children back by allowing them to leave school without being able to read and do arithmetic properly? Read more